I'd sure appreciate some advice on this problem. My coil seems to
run fine as I dial up the variac, but as soon as it hits the 110
volt setting, the safety gaps start firing. I've reverified the
optimal primary tap point, so hopefully I've got the tuning right.
Here's some info on the coil that might be helpful:
* 15/60 NST with a 35kv/0.03 uF Maxwell pulse cap
* spark gap - air-cooled segmented pipe - 6 gaps @ 0.03" each -
0.18" total
* safety gap - 3 brass balls (1/4" dia.) - 2 outer balls
connected to the NST terminals & center ball to ground. The
hot-to-ground gaps are 0.130" or 0.26" total. This was the setting
at which the safety gaps just wouldn't fire with only the variac &
NST hooked up
It doesn't make sense to me that the safety gaps can fire when the
spark gap separation is greater. Any help for a struggling semi-newbie?
Dennis Hopkinton MA